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30 October 2019 | Story Ruan Bruwer | Photo Sonia Small
Springboks
Prof Francis Petersen, UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, paid a special visit to the Springboks in 2018 before they faced England in Bloemfontein. From the left are Jacques Nienaber (Springbok assistant coach), Oupa Mohoje (Springbok), Prof Petersen, Rassie Erasmus (Springbok head coach), and Swys de Bruin (Springbok consultant coach at the time). De Bruin, Erasmus, Nienaber, and Mohoje are all Kovsie alumni.

Like the rest of the country, we are behind our Springboks all the way. This is what Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS), told alumnus Rassie Erasmus in a letter this week.

Prof Petersen wrote the letter to Erasmus, the head coach of the Springboks, to wish him everything of the best in the team’s preparation and for the game on Saturday (2 November 2019) at which they face England in the Rugby World Cup final in Japan.

"On behalf of the staff and students of the University of the Free State, I would like to wish you and the Springbok team all the best with your preparations this week and for the final. I know that Saturday’s match will be played with vigour and determination,” Prof Petersen wrote.

Prof Petersen said the UFS community was extremely proud of the Springboks’ achievements during the 2019 Rugby World Cup – especially with Erasmus at the helm of the team. The Boks defeated Japan in the quarter-final and Wales in the semi-final to reach their first final since 2007.

“As a former Shimla player and Kovsie Alumnus of the Year 1998, we are truly proud of what you have achieved during your career in South African rugby, and especially during the World Cup tournament. We are also proud of our other alumni – Jacques Nienaber as defence coach, and referee Jaco Peyper.”

Peyper refereed one of the quarter-finals and will be an assistant referee in the bronze medal play-off between New Zealand and Wales on 1 November 2019.

Under Erasmus the Springboks won the Rugby Championship this year, the first time since 2010. Erasmus and Nienaber have a long relationship. They met in the army in 1991. Later Nienaber served as physiotherapist with the Shimlas and Erasmus captained the team. They worked together at the Cheetahs, Cats, Stormers, Munster and now the Springboks.

News Archive

First Kovsie. First Free Stater. First Female. Prof Driekie Hay makes history.
2014-06-10

 
Prof Driekie Hay, Vice-Rector: Open and Lifelong Innovative Higher Education, was elected to the Board of the Afrikaanse Taal- en Kultuurvereniging (ATKV). It is the first time in the history of the ATKV that someone from our university – as well as from the Free State – has been elected to the Board.

To date, only a few women have been nominated.

“I see this election as recognition of the UFS’s vision to act as a national role player and make a difference through its Human Project and its pursuit of social justice and reconciliation,” says Prof Hay.

She was appointed in the cultural expert portfolio during the ATKV’s Annual General Meeting from 28 to 29 May 2014. In this position Prof Hay has to promote the Afrikaans language and culture on a national level – through an inclusive approach. Prof Hay’s goal is to build bridges between the different language and cultural groups. She would like to establish greater understanding between the various groups in our country. She feels it is important to give shape to “a new generation of South Africans that are no longer threatened by ‘otherness’, but will cherish the treasure of diversity.”

This appointment isn’t only a great honour, but also endorses Prof Hay’s expertise. “On a personal and professional level, this appointment means that they have confidence in my expertise, outlook on life and experience” she says.

Prof Hay will serve on the Board of the ATKV for a three-year term.

The ATKV is a cultural organisation with four main focus areas:

  • language,
  • the arts,
  • communities and
  • education.

 


Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

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